Where will the upset bug bite?

As the puck drops on the start of the NHL postseason, Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber chatted with CNNSI.com about some of the first round's more intriguing matchups:

CNNSI.com: It always seems as if there's the potential for one great upset in the NHL playoffs, especially in the first round. Which team has the most to worry about?

Michael Farber: Look west, look at the Colorado Avalanche. This is not a team that has played the way it wanted to this season. It has been far too dependent on Patrick Roy in goal. Even though Peter Forsberg is coming back, his team still has not scored enough goals and Forsberg will be playing on one bad leg.

Now look at the Los Angeles Kings: great power play, terrific penalty killing, special teams often win in the playoffs. This is a very dangerous team. It beat Detroit last year in the first round, went to a Game 7 in the second round against Colorado.

Los Angeles now has Jason Allison, a horse as a front-line center. Colorado might be in over its head even though the Avalanche are favored.

CNNSI.com: What about the Red Wings? They haven't played a meaningful game since who knows when. Should Detroit be concerned about sharpness -- or a lack thereof. The Wings didn't really end the season on a flourish ...

Farber: No, Detroit didn't, but this is a very good team, though, lots of veterans -- the Wings know how to respond. However, Detroit, the best team in the NHL all season, will be playing the best team since January 1, the Vancouver Canucks. Todd Bertuzzi, who's not been a brainy player in his career, has been first-team all-Mensa since the first of the year. He's been playing great and smart. Markus Naslund is a very dangerous left winger and Dan Cloutier has shown, at least in the regular season, that he can be a No. 1 goalie. I expect Detroit to get out of this series, but I think it might go seven games.

CNNSI.com: Over in the east, the Islanders have had a great regular season, but does that mean anything once this second season starts?

Farber: Everyone will be looking at Alexei Yashin, the Islanders' big scorer who has been shut down in recent postseasons. Last year when he was with Ottawa he was shut down by Toronto's Shayne Corson -- he will see lots of Corson again. Yashin's coming off a groin injury, Corson coming off a hip flexor, but they will both be ready for Game 1. The Maple Leafs-Islanders series is one of matchups. On the other side, look for New York's Michael Peca, the premier defensive player in the league, to try and shut down Mats Sundin, Toronto's No. 1 center. Sundin has become a character player over recent years; he tends to fight through checks. We will see if Yashin can do the same.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.

 

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